If part of “never pot myself in a materially disadvantageous position again for ‘love’” means you don’t live with a romantic partner, you don’t have LTRs, and you don’t get married, you’re going your own way.

MGTOW doesn’t mean cutting yourself off from society, at least to me. It means avoiding long-term romantic entanglements because, as you said, putting yourself in a vulnerable position for “love” is a bad idea.

It’s a lifestyle about self improvement and taking care of yourself, because what we’ve been told about women isn’t true. There is no unicorn that is going to be faithful and is with you out of love; she is there to get resources because that’s how we’re programmed as humans. She’s programmed to look for a better provider and move to him when she can. Trading up is part of human nature. As society has changed, the constraints and discouragement for such behavior has vanished.

Society has also made it worse through things like divorce and family law. By treating men accused of harassment as guilty. Of ignoring male victims of rape and/or spousal abuse.

If you look at all that and decide you’re better served by avoiding the legal and societal disabilities that come with modern relationships, you’re MGTOW to me.